Doubters have wondered why Nokia -- a company that's made an almost wholesale bet on the Windows Phone OS (with the exception of the Asha platform) , and whose handset business is in the process of being absorbed by Microsoft -- would build anything with Android inside.

This kind of hybrid OS might be a way to introduce new users to the Windows Phone interface with less transition pain. Or it could be just one example of a handset that could run either Android or Windows Phone. Microsoft reportedly has discussed with other phone makers the feasability of allowing carriers and/or users to choose between Android and the Windows Phone OS on the same handset, both I and some others have heard from various sources.

Earlier reports seemed to indicate that Microsoft might have been proposing to handset makers that they provide users with a dual-boot Android/Windows Phone OS option, which seemed ludicrous bordering on suicidal to me. But an Android OS variant which looks and feels like a Windows Phone OS sibling or cousin -- as wild as that sounds at first -- actually makes more sense strategy-wise for Microsoft, in my opinion.

Think about it: Microsoft wants to be a devices and services company. If you buy a handset that runs at least some Microsoft services and apps, Microsoft is guaranteed to earn at least some revenues from that transaction. If a user foregoes Windows Phone as it stands now in favor of an iPhone or Android phone, Microsoft will likely make far less from that potential customer. Of course, Microsoft's preference would be for that handset to be all Microsoft, with a pure version of Windows Phone OS inside. But an Android core with Microsoft apps and services is the next best thing, isn't it?

Do you think Microsoft is going to allow this Normandy handset to come to market? I'm increasingly thinking the answer is yes. And I'm starting to think that Normandy may not be the only Android/Windows Phone hybrid handset we see in 2014. What's your take?